TEHRAN – Iran has offered a variety of petrochemical products as well as 5,000 tons of light naphtha at the country’s Energy Stock Market (IRENEX), Fars news agency reported.

As reported, dissolving agent 502, industrial butane gas, industrial propane gas, industrial liquefied natural gas (LNG), hexane, light naphtha, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) were offered for domestic buyers on Saturday at the internal ring of IRENEX.

International buyers on the other hand were offered LNG from the Persian Gulf Star Refinery at IRENEX’s international ring.

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) offered crude oil at IRENEX first on October 28, 2018 just few days before new U.S. sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sector took effect (November 4). In the first round, NIOC could sell some 280,000 barrels of crude oil at $74.85 per barrel. With the daily supply amount of one million barrels, the market wrapped up by selling eight 35,000-barrel cargos of oil on the day.

In line with light crude offerings, NIOC has also sold 70,000 barrels of heavy crude oil at IRENEX for the first time on April 30.

Offering crude oil, oil products and petrochemicals directly at the energy stock exchange has become one of the main strategies that Iran is following in order to defy U.S. sanctions and to help its oil and petrochemical exports afloat.

Last week, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia declared that Tehran was fully prepared to sell oil in a “grey market”, vowing to circumvent the U.S. unilateral sanctions against the energy-rich country.

“We sell oil at a recently discovered grey market using all of our capacities,” he said, “This is not smuggling. This is countering sanctions which we do not see as just or legitimate."
Grey market is refereed to where the products and goods are bought and sold outside and not within in the original manufacturers authorized distribution channel.
EF/MA